You know you need to generate leads for the success of your business. But how? We share great lead magnet ideas for small businesses, examples and pointers for driving traffic to them.
11 Killer Lead Magnet Ideas for Your Small Business
Lead magnets are critical to the success of any business. They can help you grow your small business by attracting new customers and providing them with something they want in return for providing their information to you for future contact.
But what does a good lead magnet look like and how can you create one that delivers results? That depends on your business and your audience’s needs!
You’ve got the “Subscribe to Our Newsletter” on your website, so you’re all set, right?
Nope!
Your website users inevitably are thinking “what’s in it for me?” and you’ve got to think about this when considering how to generate leads for your business.
Let’s review some basics about lead magnets and check out some lead magnet ideas for small businesses.
What is a Lead Magnet?
A lead magnet is a type of offer that you give away to your target audience in exchange for their contact information. Lead magnets can be as simple as a PDF download or as complicated as an online course.
You can use lead magnets to incentivize people to sign up for your email list, download a white paper, or purchase a product. Lead magnets come in all shapes and sizes and it’s up to you to choose the one that best suits your business needs.
Lead Magnet Ideas for Your Small Business
Because you want to drive more traffic to your site and generate quality leads, a lead magnet needs to be personalized to suit your audience in order to be an effective content marketing tool.
The term lead magnet is used for any type of content, offer or freebie that is given away in exchange for contact information. This can be in the form of:
- An Ebook
- Free Challenge
- Free Webinar
- Printables
- Downloads
- Whitepaper
- Product Samples
- Free Trials
- Free Products
- Quizzes or Surveys
- A checklist
And more…
How to Make a Good Lead Magnet
Lead magnets are often used to build an email list, but can also be used as a way to promote other content, drive sales, or get donations.
Below are some tips on how to create an irresistible lead magnet:
- Decide on the buyer persona you want to target
- Make a compelling reason to sign up, download or purchase
- Choose a relevant type of lead magnet for your target audience
- Be sure the lead magnet solves a problem for your audience or gives them something they need
- Make your offer easy for the recipient to take advantage of
- Offer your lead magnet with no strings attached and do not require them to buy anything else from you in order to access it.
The question to ask yourself is “what are people already spending money on?” While it might sound silly to think this way, if they’re willing to part with money, that’s proof they’re committed.
But you can’t go creating lead magnets without knowledge about the topic or product, can you? So, it has to be relevant to your audience and you have to know something about what you’re offering.
It doesn’t stop there though. To put together an effective lead magnet, it’s essential to serve it in the correct format.
So, let’s say you’re an eCommerce site selling organic, infused olive oils and you think “what relevant items do people spend money on that I could turn into a relevant lead magnet?”
If you’re like me, you’re already thinking about cookbooks. People are always looking for new recipes and, according to NBC News, over 17 million cookbooks were sold in 2017. The pandemic appeared to improve cookbook sales which made up about 85% of U.S. book sales, according to The New York Times.
It sounds like the perfect lead magnet, doesn’t it?
What a great way to generate leads than to offer a free downloadable recipe book, filled with unique recipes showcasing your flavored olive oils! And for those unfamiliar with cooking with olive oil, much less flavored oils, having these recipes handy makes a user much more likely to try your product.
Fantastic Lead Magnet Examples
The American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History in New York ran a promotional offer to start the summer off right. If you signed up for a Museum membership by June 21st, they gave an immediate $20 discount on the membership price.
Why it works:
An immediate discount and a sense of urgency create a fear of missing out.
Peloton
Peloton provides on-demand workouts online and offers a free 30 day trial for anyone trying their app for the first time.
Credit: Peloton
Why it works:
30 days is long enough to begin building good habits and try out a good number of exercises. Additionally, they clearly list the perks of utilizing the free trial. They’ve also anticipated objections to signing up by calling out that they’ll send a reminder 7 days before the trial ends.
Target Baby Registry
When new moms create their baby registries with Target, they receive a free welcome kit worth approximately $100. In addition to free samples, moms can expect to receive a 15% discount on the remaining registry list items right before their baby’s expected arrival date.
Credit: Target
Why it works:
Preparing for a new baby is expensive and many parents look for baby product samples. Setting parents up with product samples and discounts on items they need is a fantastic marketing strategy.
Where to Place Your Lead Magnet
In the world of digital marketing, it’s all about generating leads, but you’ve got to get eyeballs on your amazing offer, so it’s time to think about placement.
Here are great ways to showcase and drive traffic to your killer lead magnet:
- In blog posts – in the middle of the content and in the CTA
- In the sidebar of your website
- In the header of your website
- Using an exit pop-up
- In social media posts (sparingly)
- In social media bios
- On the “About” page of your website
- At the end of podcast episodes
- In the descriptions of your YouTube videos
- In your existing email newsletter
And more!
And don’t just focus on using your online presence to promote your lead magnet! Get out and network, attend trade shows or farmer’s markets, or try direct mail or outbound calls, depending on your industry.
As you can see, the sky’s the limit when coming up with lead magnet ideas for your small business. And with the variety of locations you can get your lead magnets seen, both online and offline, opportunities are nearly endless.
We know small businesses and understand the challenges of coming up with content, generating ideas and working on all your marketing efforts while running things from the business side.
Let us be your team behind the scenes. We use a solid SEO strategy and customized ideas based on your business needs and our case studies prove we get results!
Contact us today to see how we can help.
Let's Talk
Passionate digital marketing expert with over 10 years of experience. Broad, hands-on marketing skillset, from web developer, SEO, PPC, Data Analytics & Tracking.